May 2018 - The previous summer we had embarked on a new chapter of our journey when the Mares of Kansas joined us. After careful consideration we opted to breed the imported States Premium mare Wischhoff’s Catania, a proven producer of at least 4 foals prior, to the young and exciting stallion Fox Creek’s Masterpiece. This would be his first foal and we could hardly contain ourselves for excitement!

Since this was her first with us, we didn’t know what to expect. Between the four of us, we had camera checks on her every 30 minutes throughout the night. After months of an agonizing wait and a long gestation of 345 days, Catania gave birth to a leggy, sweet, palomino colt on May 25th, 2018. The only time window we had not covered was 4:30 AM. And guess when she had him? Yup, sometime between 4 and 5 (best guess is 4:30 AM).

From the moment he stood the very first time, it was clear this colt was going to be big and beautiful. He seemed more a warmblood foal than a pony! For as long as those legs were, he sure knew how to weld them. It wasn’t long before we were enchanted by his lofty, athletic movement and charmed by his sweet, people-oriented personality. It took a week of getting to know him for us to come up with his barn name: Martin.

Being of Irish heritage, we embrace as many exports from Ireland as we can. One such is a comedy television show called Moone Boy; the story of an Irish lad named Martin Moone who grew up in central Ireland during the early 90’s with his imaginary friend. Every episode has us all in tears for laughing and it is a character we have all come to adore. And that’s how we named this colt.

Everything came easy with Martin. Haltering. Trailering. Farrier work. He was so easy going, so well mannered (before we even tried!) and consistently amazed us with his abilities to connect and communicate. That summer was so enjoyable to watch him grow and learn the world around him. For our first 100% German Riding pony, we were over the moon….or would that be, Moone?